TEHRAN - A member of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee has condemned brutal killing of a large number of the Muslims in India, claiming that the American spy agency, the CIA, has always been involved in such criminalities against Islam and its followers. 

“One of the major policies of the global arrogance, headed by the U.S., is developing anti-Islam plots. The arrogant global powers imagine that they will be capable of ruling the world nations and turn the glob into a unipolar world via developing Islamophobia,” Abulfazl Hassan Beigi said on Wednesday. 

He added, “Unfortunately, India is among the places where the policies of the U.S. and CIA are effective.” 

The lawmaker expressed hoped that the Indian government would find out that the Muslims are pro-peace based on the holy Quran’s tips.

“The CIA (the Central Intelligence Agency) is behind such organized measures,” he opined. 

Writing on his official Twitter account on Monday night, Zarif condemned the recent wave of “organized violence” against Indian Muslims, calling on the New Delhi government to “ensure the wellbeing of all Indians”.

“Iran condemns the wave of organized violence against Indian Muslims. For centuries, Iran has been a friend of India. We urge Indian authorities to ensure the wellbeing of ALL Indians and not let senseless thuggery prevail,” Zarif said.

The foreign minister added, “The path forward lies in peaceful dialogue and rule of law.” 

In an interview with the pro-reform Etemad newspaper published on Tuesday, Mir-Mahmoud Mousavi, Iran’s former ambassador to New Delhi, has expressed disgust over violence against Indian Muslims, saying, “We should not close our eyes to the realities of the Islamic world.”

Abolfazl Zohrevand, Tehran’s former ambassador to Italy and Afghanistan, has also said, “Unfortunately, we are not seeing any stance toward the Indian issue by the Islamic world, and if that continues, we will see more violation of Muslims’ rights in India,” he.

Protests swept India since the Indian Parliament passed the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) on December 11, entitling religious minority migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan to Indian citizenship if they entered the country before the end of December 2014, but excluding Muslims.

The act has come under criticism for discriminating against undocumented Muslim migrants.

More than 40 Muslims were killed by Hindu extremists last week in New Delhi. Extremists put houses, shops, mosques, schools, and vehicles on fire.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been publicly silent on the violence.

His powerful home minister, Amit Shah, has accused opposition parties of inciting the riots by spreading misinformation about the citizenship law, which fast-tracks naturalization for religious minorities from several neighboring countries but not Muslims, according to the Associated Press.

On Monday, India’s top court agreed to hear cases filed by riot victims accusing leaders of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party of hate speech. Some of the victims accuse Kapil Mishra, a local leader of Modi’s party who lost his Delhi state assembly seat in recent elections, of stoking the violence.

With around 201 million Muslims (2018 estimate), India's Muslim population is about the world's second-largest and the world's largest Muslim-minority population.

Iran’s Ambassador to India, Ali Chegeni, has expressed hope that all Indian citizens would enjoy “peace and friendship” through wise decisions by the Indian government and officials.
During a meeting with Indian Foreign Ministry director general for political affairs on Tuesday, Chegeni noted that India is famous among Iranians in which people with diverse religions and ethnicities live peacefully with each other.

MJ/PA